That's What You Get
by monica03
Summary: Jasper's best friend, Bella, is in an abusive relationship. What will it take to save her? AH, OOC


**Disclaimer: Twilight and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I own nothing but this storyline and a deep-seated love of all things Jasper...**

 **A big shout out to my beta, Brittlyn aka bnutter. She is amazing and made my words look pretty. A heartfelt thank you to MarieCarro for the beautiful artwork.**

* * *

 _Someone to give you all that you need_  
 _Someone to love you_  
 _That's what you get with me_  
 _Someone to show you how good it can be_  
 _Make no mistake about it_  
 _That's what you get me with me_

 **Song inspiration: "That's What You Get" — Boyz N Girlz United**

* * *

"JASPER! JASPER!" the shivering brunette screamed as she banged on her best friend's door.

"Geez Bells, don't have a cow! I'm coming!" he yelled back. He glanced at his watch, almost 3 AM, before opening the door. He was greeted with a scene that sent a shock through him. The girl's hair was a mess, her clothes torn in several places. He noticed she wouldn't look up at him. Reaching out, he gently but firmly grabbed her chin, turning it so he could get a good look at her face. Even through the ever-present Seattle rain, he could tell she was crying. Her right eye almost swollen shut, her left cheek bruised. There was blood oozing from her busted lip. Faint finger-shaped bruises were forming on her neck.

"He did it again," Jasper ground out. She jerked her face away from him. Bella figured she would get another lecture but Jasper reached out and took her in his arms instead. She buried her face in his chest and continued to sob. Jasper fought hard not to cry himself. He hated seeing her like this. When her tears let up, he decided they needed to get out of the rain.

"Come on, darlin'. Let's go get you cleaned up and then I'll find us both some dry clothes."

She nodded against him and then allowed herself to be lead inside. Jasper closed the door and then bolted the lock. He knew there wasn't much that would stop her boyfriend when he was like this, but maybe it would slow him down some. The blond closed his eyes, shook his head, and sighed before putting his arm around his friend's shoulders and helped her upstairs. This was becoming an all too common occurrence.

Once in the master bathroom, he lifted her up on the counter, before peeling his wet shirt off and tossing it into the bathtub. Opening the drawer he pulled out a washcloth. After wetting the washcloth, the young man reached up to wash off her face. Tears continued to stream down her face. Her dark eyes kept trying to catch his soft green ones, with no success. She tried to read his facial expressions but his face was stony. In her heart, she knew he was mad, partly at her, but the silence was killing her.

"Please say something," Bella begged. Jasper glanced up at her briefly.

"Not yet," he needed to calm down. He didn't want to yell at her. He knew it wasn't her fault, but he was still a little upset with her. Jasper had warned her several times that Edward was bad news. This wasn't the first time she had come begging for his help after the two had fought. The past couple of times he had begged her not to go back. She had told Jasper over and over she had to because she loved him. He thought she sounded more like she was trying to convince herself of this more than him. He finished washing her face, then stepped back. Jasper leaned up against the wall and closed his eyes before speaking. "So what happened this time?"

She took a deep breath before speaking. "He came home…he was drunk…again. He had been out clubbing with Emmett. I don't even know what happened there," tears continued to flow down her cheeks from her brown eyes. "I just know he came home drunk and horny. He got mad because I wouldn't sleep with him. There was no way I wanted to sleep with him in the state he was in. I didn't even want him to touch me. It's not like he would have even remembered it in the morning!"

Jasper let out a groan. He knew what was coming next. She always blamed herself for their fights

"I should have just gone out with him or something. Then this would have never happened," she said while reaching up to touch her eye, wincing at the sensation. She drew in a sharp breath and Jasper opened his eyes to look at the girl perched on the counter. Jasper sighed again.

"Darlin', how many times do I have to tell you? Edward hurting you is not your fault. Did you call the police?"

"Jasper…"

"No, don't. I'm not gonna argue with you about this tonight," he replied calmly. "Stay here. I'll go get you some dry clothes."

She nodded, astonished that he cut her off.

He quickly made his way out of the bathroom and dug through his dresser drawers trying to find clothes for them both. He tried not to think about what happened. It broke his heart to think about what she was putting up with. She could do so much better. Why she couldn't see that other men wanted her was beyond him.

 _'Maybe one day I'll get up the courage to tell her the truth,'_ he thought to himself as he pulled out some clothes. He shrugged on a clean shirt and then changed pants before taking a pair of cotton shorts and a T-shirt to his friend.

"Here, Bella," he said as he handed her the clothes. He turned to leave the room and was almost out the door, but then he turned around and pulled her into a hug. He released her and left her to change, closing the door behind him. Jasper decided he should get ice for her face while she was changing. When he got back upstairs she was curled up in a ball on his bed.

"I brought you some ice," he whispered, not trusting his voice. Jasper stretched out on the bed next to her. Bella immediately shifted positions, so she was lying on his chest. He gently placed the ice on her face and stroked her long brown hair out of her face with the other hand. They exchanged no words. Before long he realized she was asleep. Jasper couldn't help glance over her body using the dim light filtering in from the bathroom. There were now visible bruises on her arms and the handprint on her neck was turning darker. He hugged his companion tighter and kissed her on the forehead. She unconsciously snuggled up against him, she felt safe in his arms.

Jasper had been fighting his feelings of love for Bella for a long time. It physically hurt him to not have her. Jasper finally understood what those songs meant when they talked about loving someone you couldn't have.

The next morning Jasper woke up to an empty bed. His heart immediately sank. This was an all too familiar sight after Bella showed up on his front doorstep in the middle of the night. He sighed when he saw the note on the pillow thanking him for the help. It also said she had to go make things right with Edward. This letter wasn't a first either, unfortunately.

He got up and paced the room. He cursed himself for not telling her the truth the night before.

 _'Maybe she wouldn't have left then,'_ he thought.

Jasper was unsure about what he could do to help Bella. She had always been so selfless and tried to see the best in people. Even if it was to her determent.

A little while later his phone began to ring and Bella's name and sweet, laughing face flashed on his screen.

"Bella! Thank God, I have been worried about you," Jasper began, but was quickly cut off.

"Sir, this is Officer Newton. We have taken Miss Isabella Swan to the emergency room. We received a 911 call from this number but when the operator answered no one was on the line. The operator tried to call the number back and got no response so they dispatched my partner and me to the scene."

"Oh my God! Please tell me she is ok. Please!" Jasper begged.

"We found her on the floor when we got here. We called for an ambulance as soon as we saw her. She had an obviously broken arm and was beaten badly. We were able to get into her emergency contacts on her phone where we found your number."

"Officer Newton, she showed up at my house last night after her fiancé had hurt her. I beg her every time this happens to press charges, but she always refuses."

"It won't be an issue this time, sir. She briefly was conscience while being loaded up by the medics and she admitted what happened. We have already issued an APB for Mr. Cullen."

"Thank God!" Jasper breathed a sigh of relief. "Can you please tell me what hospital Bella was taken to?"

"Of course, son. She is at Harborview Medical Center."

"Thank you!"

Jasper immediately got dressed. He wanted to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. He didn't want Bella to wake up alone.

* * *

Bella woke up to find Jasper staring at her from a chair next to the bed.

"Jasper..." she whispered. She could barely get the words out through her bruised throat.

"Shh, save your energy," he answered. She tried to speak again, but he shook his head. "The doctor says you have a spiral fracture of your arm and he broke your wrist in several places, several broken ribs, and a bruised trachea."

Tears welled up in her eyes. She was in a great deal of pain. "The surgery on your arm went well but you'll be in a cast for a while. I called Charlie. He'll be here soon," Jasper almost choked, trying to hold back his sobs. "I've been so worried about you."

Bella looked up at him with sad eyes.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry. I should have listened to you. I don't know why I was so stupid. I thought he loved me. I thought we would make it work."

"Don't go blaming yourself again. I have told you over and over, it isn't your fault!"

"Jasper...," she tried again.

"No, just listen," he said as he stood up and paced the room, "I have had to watch you get hurt repeatedly. I can't take it anymore. Don't you know there are other men out there that want you? People that want to love you, you won't open your eyes and see it!"

He finished his speech and leaned over her bed placing his hands on either side of her.

"Jasper what…who are you talking about?" she asked confused.

"Me," he barely whispered.

"What?" Bella squeaked out, even more confused than before.

"I am talking about me," he said before pacing again. "I don't know how to say it any other way. I have wanted you for so long, but I had to sit back and watch as Edward destroyed your life. I have been waiting for the right time to tell you but you never wanted to hear it. You kept trying to tell me that you loved Edward, which you and I both know wasn't true. You were just too scared to leave him. I would never treat you like that. I could show you what love really feels like," he said as he walked back over to her and took her uncast hand in his.

"I…I don't know what to say," she whispered as she tried to grasp what he was saying.

* * *

He hadn't heard from Bella in weeks. He had left the hospital soon after he had told her how he felt about her. She was still at a loss for words when her dad got there. Jasper figured then was not the best time to talk about it. Now that all this time had passed he figured he had scared her off. Somehow he at least felt better knowing she now knew.

Edward's arrest report and conviction were in the paper. The media had a field day with the story of the seemingly perfect young doctor. Jasper could breathe a little easier knowing Edward wasn't able to hurt Bella while he was locked up.

It was killing him not knowing how she was. He missed her. Jasper wanted to reach out to her desperately, but he didn't want to push her.

A knock on the door broke him out of his sorrowful thoughts.

"Coming," he called from the living room. He got up and made his way to the door. He opened the door to find Bella standing there. She looked a hundred times better than she had the last time he saw her. The bruises had faded and the swelling in her face had gone down. Her left arm was still in a cast. She still had a long way to go before all the physical damage healed. The emotional damage will take even longer.

"Bells," Jasper whispered in surprise.

"Hey Jazz," she answered quietly, smiling. "Aren't you gonna invite me in?"

"Um, yeah, come in," he replied as he moved out of the doorway. She walked in and he closed the door behind her. He turned to look at her and had to smile. "You look wonderful."

"Thanks," she blushed. "I hope you don't mind me showing up uninvited."

"Never! You know you don't ever need to be invited to my house. I've missed you."

"I've missed you too. I'm sorry I disappeared on you. I needed time to think," she tried to explain.

"What did you think about?" Jasper asked, almost scared to know the answer.

"About you…about me…about us," she replied as she looked at his eyes seeking his emotions in them. She found fear…fear that reflected in her eyes. "About what you said. It scared me, but it made me think. Don't let this go to your head or anything, but you were right."

"Excuse me," Jasper interrupted. "Say that again." A smirk spread over Jasper's face.

Bella had to chuckle at his expression.

"You…were…right," she spread the words out.

"About which part?" Jasper couldn't help but mess with Bella.

"Aren't you just full of questions today?" she laughed, shaking her head.

"Yes, and I hope you have the answers," he replied truthfully. She sighed before continuing.

"About Edward destroying my life. About you trying to tell me that, but me not wanting to listen." Jasper nodded, interested in where she was going with this. "So I took time to think about what you said. I am tired of being scared all the time…I want my life back."

"I'm glad you finally came to your senses."

Bella meekly smiled at him as he continued.

"You said you thought about us. What about us? Is there an us?" Jasper asked, terrified to hear the answer.

"Jasper you scared me to death when you told me how you felt. That was the last thing I was expecting to come out of your mouth."

Jasper was expecting the worst after she said that.

"But it was also the best thing you could have said."

Jasper stopped breathing when she said that. She was taking his emotions on a roller coaster ride.

"So what does this mean?" he asked.

"It means that I think the man of my dreams was standing in front of me the entire time but I was too blind to see it."

"You don't know how long I have been waiting to hear that!" Jasper said before wrapping his arms around her and leaning to bring his lips to hers.


End file.
